THE ABÉCÉDAIRE PROJECT

When people tell me they are convinced that I will create something interesting when given a theme or idea, it gives me wings yet simultaneously triggers severe performance anxiety." I try and put everything into perspective by repeating a phrase I used to tell my students: "Making art is not brain surgery. The consequences if you screw up are not life threatening".  

Sometimes it works.

I was one of several artists recently invited, once more by our culturally enlightened city, to create a Drop cap, intial letter or versal for a project entitled Abécédaire. Versals were prevalent in medieval manuscripts. Hardworking scribes created beautiful ornamental letters at the beginning of paragraphs or sections in books. Having admired these for years, I eagerly accepted the opportunity.

Surprisingly, versals already adorn my website. My companion Marty came up with the idea many years ago, merging my existing artwork with the letters "I" and "M". 

I particularly love what he did with the letter M on the French version of my website.

But back to the ABÉCÉDAIRE project conceived by the writer Nane Couzier. It's a fascinating one. 

Both artists and writers were invited to participate. Artists were each assigned a letter of the alphabet that corresponded to a particular word, which in turn, would be found at the beginning of a writer's text. My drop cap was to appear at the beginning of the writer Marie Desjardins' prose.

My assigned letter was D for Dragon. I was in for a bit of a shock because I never imagined creating a versal would be so challenging. Given that 2024 is the Chinese Year of the Dragon, stunning depictions of this mythical creature abound, presenting a daunting array of influences.

I wanted to create an original creature but at the same time, one that had to be recognizable as a dragon. Not an easy task. I decided to undertake a bit of research to uncover the differences between Asian and Medieval European dragons. Asian versions tend to be more serpentine whereas European ones seem more mammal-like with reptilian overtones. I aimed for a combo. 

I initially looked at photos of dinosaurs, which to me resemble dragons. I imagined myself figuratively merging with the ancient beast. I became one with the dinosaur.

I know this process may seem a bit weird (okay, maybe a lot weird) but I do this all the time when I make art. I inhabit my creations. I've often been told that whether I interpret plants, animals, shapes or people, my elements, creatures or characters appear to want to burst from the confines of their parameters, beyond the edges of whatever is holding them in. I'm sure a psychoanalyst would have a fascinating theory as to why I express myself in this way. I often feel confined, by what, I'm not sure, probably "group think".

But I digress!

As I began sketching in the Procreate app on my iPad, it quickly became obvious that I had to keep the shape of my letter in mind. A dinosaur's body didn't quite meet the twisty lean requirements of the letter D. 

My beast evolved, but because of its legs, I kept churning out a very chubby letter. I put the problem aside for awhile and concentrated on the face instead. To get the twist right, I felt the dragon had to look directly at the viewer and should definitely NOT look like a dinosaur. 

I started a new sketch. I thought the dragon's eyes should be penetrating, like those of a predator. Birds of prey usually have that "I'm gonna devour you" look.

Closing the letter D from the front was an issue that preoccupied me.  My dragon's face evolved from an amalgam different species: a raging bull with raptor eyes and fiery, steaming nostrils, a serpent's forked tongue, vampire fangs, and the beard of a goat (to close the D). 

 

 

 

Whether this dragon head ended up with horns or merely dishevelled hair fixed with tons of hairspray is open to interpretation.

Once I was satisfied with the face, I started reworking the body. I made it more lean and mean. The leg became less bulky and more serpentine yet remained muscular. I applied layers of colour and various textures to create the skin. The tail follows the shape of the legs and curves slightly down as it forms a sinuous D. The tiny turquoise wings enable the dragon to flutter about, reminiscent of a wild turkey, which despite its clunky shape, manages to fly just high enough to find a perch in a tree.The talons/ claws vary in colour from yellow to dark orange and are quite hot if touched. Leaf-shaped protrusions on the tail make for a more interesting contour.

 

 

It quickly became obvious that I should personally adopt this letter for my name which just happens to begin with a D. This is how it looks at the beginning of Diane. For some peculiar reason, the dot on the "i" flies away.
 

I learned so much during this project and thoroughly enjoyed becoming one with a Dragon. Below are photos that I took during the unveiling event today. They show the installation at Maison Félix Leclerc and the end product of my collaboration with Marie Desjardins. Over the summer, visitors can wander around, read the texts of the various authors and view all the drop caps created by participating visual artists.

Thanks to the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion for another interesting challenge.